Just One Big, Happy Family
by horrorinhappiness
Summary: The Avengers team moves in together. What will happen when a new member joins the team? OC nonromantic. Can the team handle the ups and downs of family life when they could die any day? And what will happen when someone tries to destroy everything they have worked so hard to build? Stony, Thoki, Clint/tasha, friendBruce. No graphic love(yet) language and future violence. Warnings
1. Meeting

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are suggested malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and future chapters could get pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

The glaring light caused him to squint, his considerably large hangover reminding him of how stupid he was for consuming the amount of alcohol that he had. It hadn't helped that the reason he had been drinking was because of a long lecture from Mr. Perfect, himself, Captain America and upon stumbling down the kitchen that morning ("_Well eleven is still morning," _he thought to himself) he had gotten another one about drinking. It had also include some valid points about the team being in trouble if one of them was down for the count because they were too hung over to fight, but Tony was currently ignoring those in favor of just being pissed at the Captain.

He was brought out of his wandering thoughts by the too high pitched voice of a woman who looked a little too chipper to be working at one of most feared government agencies. The SHEILD woman was flashing him and Bruce a million watt smile that seemed out of place in the mostly black greeting area.

"Hello, Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner. Thank you so much for coming down. We wouldn't have called you in if this wasn't important. We currently have an… individual in custody that we would like your help with." Tony didn't miss the hesitation in her voice before she said the word 'individual.' It almost sounded like she was about to say experiment. Not only was he now suspicious, he was also slightly angry. She was saying individual in hopes that they would be less angry that it was a person that they were faced with instead of just some science project SHEILD was working on.

Bruce simply quirked an eyebrow, not as trained at picking up on human clues as he was at picking up on scientific clues. "Shouldn't Clint and Natasha be here instead, then? I mean, Tony and I aren't exactly the interrogation experts in our group."

"Well, sir… We don't wish to obtain any information that could be garnered by asking the individual. I understand that you have been doing some research into magical energy since your encounter last year with Mr. Laufeyson?" At some point they had all started walking toward the elevators, Tony following even after he noticed simply because he wanted to find out what was going on more than the woman's ability to trick him into doing what she wanted or distract them. She seemed to have Bruce enthralled, though, which seemed to explain her employment here. "I also understand that he has come back with his brother to live with you all which must have aided in the advancement of your research."

She left an open area and Bruce filled it, just as she had planned. Explaining a little bit of what they had been doing with that research over the past year. Tony leaned against the side of the elevator as they started to descend, letting his mind wander.

It was true that Loki had come back with his brother (_lover?_) about two months ago. For the first month there was constant suspicion and Loki was not let out Thor's sight except for when they went on missions, in which case he was locked into a room specially designed to hold in his magical energy. After that, though, he had been let onto the team, tentatively. At least, that was, until about a week ago.

_One week earlier_

They had all gathered to watch a movie and Loki had trailed in after Thor looking equal parts uneasy and scared, plopping into Thor's lap as soon as he sat down and looking like he was trying to hide.

"Oh no! I am not sitting in the same room with that… That! Ugh, just no! When we are fighting is one thing, but when we are just hanging out!" Clint had stood quickly and everyone but Tony, and maybe Steve, failed to notice that Natasha reached calmly for her tranq-gun. She had two buttons on it, one to load a mild tranquilizer for the human members of the team and one to load a stronger dose for the rest.

What no one in the room expected to happen next was for Loki to have a total melt down, bursting into tears and burying his face in Thor's chest.

"I-I'm… S-sorry. I am so s-sorry. I didn't mean to do those things to you all… I couldn't stop it…" Thor quietly wiped Loki's eyes and gave the room a look. The 'please-listen-to-what-he-has-to-say-because-I-kno w-what-it-is-and-you're-going-to-want-to-hear-it' look that he sometimes broke out when Loki was talking to Bruce or Tony about technology and magic, or to Steve about art, or to Natasha about certain combat moves that she might like to try. When he opened his mouth to speak this time, he poured out his story about what happened to him after he fell off the Bifrost. Halfway through, Natasha casually looked at her phone that so no one would notice. Tony had asked her if Loki was telling the truth. Later she told Thor, Clint, and Tony quietly that the horrors that he described were, in fact, the truth.

For the past week, he had actually grown to be part of the group, Clint actually inviting him down to the range to shoot with him. When they had come back Clint had looked upset but when asked about what happened, he merely yelled about how it was unfair that the magical god was also better at archery and Loki had grinned shyly at the floor before both men burst out laughing.

The elevator dinged their arrival on basement floor M just then, cutting off Tony's line of thought and the woman began speaking again.

"One of our researchers got as far as binding and containing magical energies but has not had any progress in recent years and so-"

"Wait, years?" Tony cut in. "So you're saying that SHEILD had the ability to bind magic years ago and they failed to mention that when we were battling a magical nightmare?" Tony was surprised, fuck surprised was putting it lightly. Every once in a while SHEILD would ask Bruce or him to help with an experiment. Since they had all moved into the Tower, this had become easier. Due to the whole 'Tesseract-weapon' incident, Tony regularly hacked into SHEILD to make sure there were no strings attached to the project that they didn't know about. After a while, Fury had grown tired of changing the security every week and had simply failed to inform IT to change access codes or put certain firewalls back up. Tony knew everything about SHEILD… Well it seemed everything except this.

"This project has been kept confidential," the woman huffed. "Now may I continue?" Tony glared at her for a moment and then nodded. "This individual was discovered roughly six years ago after a nasty ordeal in which most of their family died. They were discovered as the cause and brought here. They are far too dangerous to be kept anywhere else." As the woman talked ('_Really, I should at least learn her name,'_ Tony thought) Tony had Jarvis do a thermoscan from his mobile. One heat signature besides their own, small, possibly a child. Anger flared through his body. Looking up, (_Name tag, Tony, name tag.)_ Agent Dole was still talking.

"Now, when she was first brought in, the chemists working here thought to try using a version of the super soldier serum that they gave Mr. Rogers on her," Agent Dole actually let the gender slip. The wince on her face said that is was not intentional. They were now standing outside a steel door with MW 12 on its face. (_'M floor, west wing, twelfth room,' _Tony quickly noted. "It only enhanced her magical ability and made it nearly impossible to control. We wish to neutralize the threat and/or obtain any vital information that we can from the girl but no other scientists are up to the task, which is why we called in the two of you." That smile was back and Bruce seemed to wanted to fall for it, a year with people had settled him quite a bit, but one look at Tony and he knew better. No one else could have seen the anger and disgust there but Bruce did, and he looked worried.

She had turned and was tapping a code into the lock for the door.

'What?' Bruce mouthed at Tony.

Tony shook his head in anger. 'A kid,' he mouthed back.

Bruce's eyes had a moment to widen before a soft hiss announced the opening of the door and they were being swept into the dimly lit observation area.

What they saw through the one way glass almost caused both men to vomit and had Bruce back out the door in an instant, trying to keep The Other Guy in.


	2. Adoption

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are suggested malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and future chapters could get pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

Inside the cell, no denying that it was a cell, was a girl who looked twelve but much too small. Her ribs could be seen poking out of her skin through the thin fabric of something that had once resembled a hospital gown. Grime and filth caked every piece of her exposed skin and her hair stuck out at odd angles where it didn't lie in what looked like dreadlocks. Loose straw was scattered thinly across the concrete floor and a bucket for waste that looked like it hadn't been emptied in months sat in one corner. To top off the horrible picture in front of him, her small arms had been pulled back painfully and shackled just low enough that if she relaxed them, her shoulder blades would be dislocated and from the dark bruises, this had already happened more than once.

The suitcase was popping open before Tony knew what he was doing.

"So, Mr. Stark, it appears that your companion is unable to aid in the task at hand, but would you be willing-" she was cut off by the sound of shattering glass.

Tony punched through the glass to stop himself from hitting the woman in front of him. If he could have, he would have killed her, but he would settle for dealing with Fury later. For once he could yell at the agent instead of the other way around.

Once he was in the cell, he removed the shackles as gently as he could from the girl's wrists. She only looked up at him once he had successfully freed her and lifted her into his mechanical arms. And then she spoke, one word.

In a choked, dehydrated voice she said, or rather, asked, "Daddy?" Falling into unconsciousness afterward.

Tony stepped back out, past the shocked woman who was just now reaching for her walkie to call for help. He shifted the girl and crushed the walkie in one hand.

"Don't you dare, you bitch," he growled before continuing on.

Bruce's head shot up when Tony slammed the door open, almost taking it off its hinges completely.

"Come on, Bruce. I'm going to need you, and so is she. We have to get her back to the tower ASAP."

Without a word, the other man ran ahead of him, opening doors and eventually driving them back to the town quickly as Tony took the suit off and the girl lay in the back seat. The agents that they encountered on their way out had been too utterly dumb founded or scared to stop them as they watched the Hulk, Iron Man, and their most feared captive walk out the front door.

When they arrived back at the Tower, Tony again carried the girl, calling out to Jarvis to get Cap and Loki to the medical lab as soon as possible.

Bruce made her comfortable, running an IV with liquids and a light sedative into her arm before starting to examine her. Tony stepped aside to pace angrily and await the two men. When they arrived, Thor was with them but Tony turned him away with a short, "I will explain later," before shutting and locking the door.

Loki noticed the girl immediately, including the faint magical signature being released, subdued after such a long period of captivity. Instantaneously angered, he turned on Tony.

"What is the meaning of this, Stark?" he seethed.

"Woah, I didn't do this!"

"Do what?" Steve looked between the two men and then to the bed where Bruce was working swiftly. "Oh dear god…" The other two turned their attention on him and his utter shock and pain seemed to calm them both quickly.

"Cap, calm down. Let me explain." Broken eyes turned to Tony. A sharp pain reverberated through Tony's chest. The pain he always got when Steve looked hurt. "We found her… Well more, a SHEILD employee LED us to her-"

"SHEILD did this?" the hiss from the young god drew the attention of all conscious in the room.

"Loki, calm down," Cap put a hand on his shoulder. "After Tony gets done with Fury I am perfectly willing to give you a turn, just no permanent injuries, okay? We have a lifetime to get back at him for this one." The anger in Steve's voice and the suggestion in his words calmed Loki and scared Tony. This was only going to get worse… but Tony had to press on.

"We were told that they suspected her of killing her family with her powers and…" he hesitated.

"And?" Steve prodded.

"In a weird way, you're related, Steve," Bruce piped in.

"What!?" The anger in the Captain's face made them all pause.

Bruce took a breath and continued, "They used a similar serum on her as they did with you. Jarvis is breaking it down as we speak. I think that they assumed it would make her more human, get rid of her powers, but all it did was enhance them." He had started to clean the girl up now, having done all that he could to heal her for now. Gently, he wiped the grime from her skin.

"One so young…" They all turned to Loki. He continued to stare at the girl, even taking a few steps toward her. "She is totally human but was given great powers. At such a young age, she could not have controlled them… What she needed was guidance, not confinement. How far have they broken you, young one? What horrors have they forced upon you?" He closed the rest of the distance, carefully brushing a strand of hair, his magic continuing out and down to cleanse her hair and body. Without the filth, she was pretty, despite the starved form.

The girl had long black hair and near alabaster skin with light pink lips and delicate fingers. Loki brushed back her hair again and she opened her eyes, a soft green that almost looked blue. Tony and Steve, slowly coming to the bed to join the other two men.

A cracked voice spoke, "Whatever you are doing to me, it isn't a drug… Or at least not one they have used before." Bruce came up her other side, gently lifting her head to sip from a glass of water.

"No, young one. It is merely a spell to calm you. I sense that you are wise beyond your years, but even those who are wise break eventually and you have suffered much more than others. Fear and panic battle to control your mind and we simply desire to help. No longer shall SHEILD be allowed to touch you."

Her eyes widened slightly at the word 'SHEILD' but when she spoke again she was calm. "You have saved me?" A nod. "I will be allowed to stay, here? Safe? With you?" Another nod. A soft sort of smile gracing her features for a fraction of a second. "You are the Avengers." This time it was not a question.

"How did you know?" Steve's voice cut through the air, all of them suddenly realizing just how softly the other two had been speaking, creating a spell of its own.

"The same way I know everything else, Captain. That is why they feared me." Soft eyes looked at Steve and then drifted to Tony. "You are the one that I mistook for my father. I am deeply sorry, I shall not make the mistake again."

"You can call me Dad if you want." Tony shocked himself as well as everyone else in the room. Three sets of eyes snapped to him. "I mean…" He took a deep breath. "I would be happy to adopt you. I'll start getting a room ready for you on my floor for when you can get out of here."

"I fear that next time I wake up, I will not be as calm. So I will thank you now, Tony Stark, for doing this for a girl you do not even know." She drifted back off then, leaving the four gathered men in silence.


	3. Growth

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are suggested malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and future chapters could get pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

The next few weeks were difficult. Some one was always with the girl, to calm her down after her nightmares and get her anything that she needed. They learned that her name was Sarah after a few days, Bruce sending Natasha down to stay with her while he rested, making the announcement to the assembled team before disappearing. At first, Sarah had only allowed three people near her: Tony, Bruce, and Loki. After a few days, she calmed down. Having to accept Natasha's company when the four original men went to go talk to Fury. She latched onto Thor quickly after Loki took him down with him one day to keep the man from pouting, calling him 'Uncle Thor' which made the large blond grin ear to ear. Clint skulked in the corner the first few times that Natasha dragged him down to the medical area with her but one day Bruce walked into the lab to find Clint and Sarah locked into a debate about whether short or long range weapons were better in combat, eventually detailing out each weapon and what scenario was best for each.

She seemed to grow attached to them all over the three weeks that she stayed in the medical area, calling them all 'aunt' or 'uncle.' Well, except two. She called Tony 'dad' but… she didn't call Steve anything but his own name or Captain. The super soldier seemed genuinely hurt by it.

By the time she moved up to Tony's floor, they had all accepted her being there, even Fury, although he didn't have much choice. He came to visit the day after she moved.

"Well, well. So this is the little girl everyone was so afraid of." He sounded mad and condescending. It was pissing Tony off until-

"Director, I suggest that you tone down that ego of yours before it drags you somewhere you don't want to go." Anger flashed across Sarah's face and there was a crackle of magic in the air. Fury's eyes glazed over, only to clear a second later. Fear appeared and disappeared from his face so fast that for a moment, Tony thought he had imagined it.

"Now I get it." Fury looked threatening as he took a step toward her. None of them had time to react.

"Director, you misunderstand." Fury stopped and looked confused. "I have found a home here. People that seem to truly care. People who do not look at me as if I were some freak despite knowing my past. I have no desire to return to that basement but if you required it, I would go to prevent any bad blood. If you leave me be, though, I could be a valuable member of the team, or at least, one less pain in your neck. I do not wish to fight with you, only to warn you. You angered Dad, past that, I have no issue with you."

Fury seemed to be processing. This was something that all of them were still getting used to, a twelve year old that spoke as eloquently as the God of Mischief. Sure, most of the time she spoke like a regular human being, or at least as regular as one could speak with the Avengers but when she wanted to, she had this way of spinning her vocabulary.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly, Sarah actually seeming to grow on Fury a little bit. She even made him laugh, a genuine laugh. Not once had any of them heard Nick Fury genuinely laugh, they were all shell shocked, to say the least.

Early the next day, Steve sat reading the paper and drinking coffee. He had at least two more pages before he had to get up and start cooking. The rest of the team rising later than himself, he only had company if Tony had stayed up all night in his lab, and then only if he heeded Jarvis's warnings that he needed food and caffeine. Today, though, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a soft voice spoke behind him.

"I'm sorry, Steve."

He spun, catching his breath as quietly as he could, trying not to show how scared he had been. "Why are you sorry?"

Sarah sat down, across the island from him, her soft eyes seeming to look into his very soul. "I know that it bothers you."

"What?" Now he was confused.

"Well, I call everyone else by special names and I know that you've noticed and it bothers you that I don't call you one." She looked down sadly, and for a moment he thought about lying. "Please don't lie to me? Just let me explain as best I can?" She looked up, right into his eyes, and he stayed quiet. "I can't call you 'uncle' because I know that I am going to have to change it soon anyway. I don't want you to start thinking that I view you that way because soon that won't be your place."

After a few minutes of dead silence, he dared to speak again. "What do you mean? I will always be here, be the leader, we're a family."

"I've seen the way that… Just trust me that soon something will change. I can't interfere." She stood and started to make a cup of coffee and some cereal. By the time Steve's mind urged him to say something, Bruce was walking in. Time to start cooking.

Little did he know that the next mission would change everything.


	4. Time

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are malexmale couplings, (This is the chapter where some stuff happens, you been warned since chapter one, not my fault if you didn't listen) I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and future chapters could get pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

When the comms went dark, Steve panicked. The hit that the Iron Man suit took had made them all look up. This was a low level enemy. The robot army that they had amassed was weak and easily destroyed but there were a lot of them. Most of the team was smashing their way through the horde while Tony went to take out their leader. They hadn't noticed the weapon he had that let out electric pulses, and neither had Tony, until it was too late.

"TONY!" His scream echoed across the comms as Iron Man plummeted toward the ground. '_No, '_ He barely noticed the Hulk fly over his and crush their opponent in one blow as he ran toward Tony. The others were right behind him but he got there first, ripping off the face plate of the suit.

Tony's breathing was shallow but the arc glowed blue and a bit of his panic dissipated. He stroked Tony's cheek. '_Did I just do that? Stroke his… I can't be thinking about this right now!'_

His eyes peeled open slowly. "Steve…" he seemed to breathe the word out, it was like a prayer, and he tried reaching up to touch Steve's face, but it fell the next second and his eyes were closed. The blue light stuttered. Panic returned but the next second she was there.

"Move." Sarah. How had she even gotten here? "I need to get him back to his lab, now. The arc is going to give out." Steve looked up at her and was surprised. He had known that Tony was working on a suit for her but he was shocked that he completed it so fast, in a week tops. The suit was similar to his, but instead of his patriotic colors, hers was red and black with a helmet that covered most of her face but swooped up, not covering all of her head in the back. The helmet kept her hair together in something that resembled a ponytail and when she flicked her wrist it was folding in on itself until it resembled a hair clip. Her gloves had circles at the center that looked like Tony's but he knew that they concentrated her magic. Before he could observe more, she had bent and scooped up Ton- no Iron Man, teleporting away.

Moments later, Bruce and the rest were there. Bruce looked panicked.

"Where-"

"Sarah," he cut Bruce off. "She took him to his lab. The arc…" He felt so helpless.

"Loki."

"Yes, Dr. Banner. Let us go. We shall meet the rest of you there." With that Loki took Bruce by the forearm and they were gone.

Clean up be damned, Steve was on a dead sprint back to the Tower before any of the others really registered what was going on.

Waiting outside the lab for one of the people inside to come unlock the door was physically painful. One of them had sealed the door with a special code and Jarvis was not going to let him in until they were done.

The first to emerge was Sarah. She gave him a knowing look, a reassuring pat on the shoulder, and then she was gone. He charged in, not waiting for more of an invitation. Bruce and Loki saw him coming and made themselves scarce.

Adrenaline was still coursing through his veins when Tony came into sight. His skin looked slightly grey and his eyes looked slightly scared and weak, but he tried to smile anyway.

"Hey, Cap, thought that was gonna keep down-"

Whatever snarky, egotistical comment that was about to come out of his mouth was cut off by Steve's lips. It was a desperate kiss, demanding a reply. For a second, Tony's brain malfunctioned, which didn't happen often.

It was long enough to scare the Captain.

He pulled away quickly, looking like he wanted nothing more than to run away. "I'm so sorry… Look can we just forget this happened… I didn't mean to… God I'm an idiot… Tony… Just, I panicked. Sarah said the arc was going to quit and then you look so weak and I thought I was going to lose you. I'm an idiot. Can we just-" Tony stopped Steve from babbling the only way he thought would work, he kissed him back. His rant was long enough for Tony to come to one conclusion, he was in love with Steve Rogers.

He figured that this had been coming for a while. Well to be exact, six months. After Pepper had decided that dating a super hero was too much work, Steve had been there. Not in a 'we-have-to-talk' sort of way. He had just been. The talking part came later, when Tony had wanted to, asked to even. He could pin point the day that he had fallen in love with Steve Rogers.

He had been drinking a lot the night before, passing out in his lab instead of going to bed. It wasn't like he had gotten any work done, but navigating past the door had seemed like too much work. When the door slid open and Jarvis said nothing, a jolt went through his body. Soft steps had approached and placed a tray gently on the work table beside him. The tray consisted of two Tylenol, a glass of water, a cup of coffee with a pot full next to it, and a sandwich. When he looked up and saw Steve, his eyes explained it all. Steve was hurt that he was drinking away his problems instead of talking to them, Steve was worried about him as a person and not as a super hero, and Steve wasn't going to force anything on him so he didn't need to talk yet if he didn't want to. They had spent the day in his lab together. Quiet except for his work and the sound of pencil on paper as Steve drew. He left twice to get more food, but that was all. At the end of the day, Steve set a simple black and white pencil drawing of Tony working next to him and left without another word. At the bottom of the page there was a simple note: **You should get some sleep tonight.**

Never once had he wanted to admit it to himself because… What if Steve didn't feel the same way? But here the Captain was, pressing him back toward the work table he had just stood from, mouth firmly clamped over his own. A small moan escaped Tony's mouth before he gently pushed Steve a short distance away. Just the room need to breathe, really. The panic returned to Steve's face.

"Bedroom," Tony growled. Steve flushed that beautiful shade of red that he got when embarrassed. "I will not have our first time be on a table in my lab."

"I never pegged you as the romantic type, Tony." That gravelly tone was nearly the end of him but he pulled Steve toward the elevator, determined to get to his bed before they got further than making out and heavy petting.


	5. Mom

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters, I do not own Doctor Who (just love it) and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and future chapters could get pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**Sorry that this chapter is so short, the next one will be longer, I promise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

They woke late the next morning, walking into the kitchen with matching grins. Steve flushed as soon as he looked up. All the Avengers were lounging in the kitchen waiting for them. They all had Cheshire grins on their faces, except Thor and Clint. Thor looked as oblivious as usual and Clint looked dejected. He slammed a wad of bills into Natasha's hand and she made them disappear.

"Not fair!" He pouted.

"No," Natasha said smoothly. "'Not fair' would have been if we had left Loki or Sarah participate in our bet."

"You guys had a bet going?" Tony asked, casually taking a plate of food that Sarah offered him.

"Yeah, for when you guys would get it over with and fuck." Steve sputtered something about women and children in the room but was too red and flustered to get it out fully. "Tasha cheated anyway by asking Sarah."

"It was not cheating, it was using my resources."

"You knew?" Everyone else went quiet at Steve's question. Sarah turned away from the stove where she was trying to look innocent.

"Yeah, Mom. Why do you think I didn't call you anything?" The smirk on her face when she said it was so reminiscent of Tony that everyone had to remind themselves that this was not, in fact, his child. Steve turned into a tomato and everyone else burst into peels of laughter, Sarah joining in a second later.

Once everyone had quieted down was more, Sarah went on. "I moved all of your stuff up to Dad's floor already. I'm taking your floor since I figure you guys will end up in Dad's room more than yours."

"Hey, who said we were moving in together?" "I have an art studio on my floor how…" They started talking at the same time. Sarah gave them each a pointed look and then rolled her eyes.

"Well for one thing, you two were way in love before I ever got here and if you actually thought living on the same floor was a bad idea, that wouldn't have been the first thing out of your mouth. And second, I'm magic." She wiggled her fingers at them and gave a long suffering sigh. She was definitely way too wise for a twelve year old. "I switched your studio and my room, along with moving around a few others. Though, you may be living in a Tardis now… Bigger on the inside. But don't worry, Dad, it didn't mess with the structure or the soundness of the Tower."

Tony rolled his eyes. He was beginning to regret introducing the girl to Doctor Who. Maybe this whole family thing wouldn't be too bad though. He smiled into his coffee as the rest of them bickered. No, not too bad.


	6. The Mad Witch

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and future chapters could get pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**Sorry that this chapter is so short, the next one will be longer, I promise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

Steve walked into his art studio and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Sarah," he breathed out as the girl turned from the easel where she had been working.

"Oh, sorry Mom. I got into my work and didn't notice you." She flicked her wrist and the canvas appeared blank before Steve could get a good look at it. He rolled his eyes at the nickname. Sarah had started to call him 'Dad' in public, but when it was just the three of them she still called him Mom.

"It's fine. I just came up here to clear my mind." He looked nervously at the floor, hoping that the, now fourteen year old, would not pick up on it. But of course she saw right through him.

"Worried about your date tonight?" Tony had asked him out, not just their usual 'greasy-diner-dive-bar' night, like a 'wear-your-best' night. It had him suspicious and worried and hopeful all at once. Two years, they had been together for two years, and it wasn't always easy. They had fights like anyone else but they never let it interfere with the team. Clint and Natasha had gotten married somewhere along the line but refused to have kids. Loki and Thor had gone through some Asgardian binding ceremony. He and Tony… were raising a fourteen year old witch together but still hadn't done anything to take their relationship to the next level. Steve wouldn't push him, but still, he was slightly worried.

"No," he lied to the floor. Then a thought spiked through his head. Two years and they still didn't really know anything about Sarah except the basics of her ordeal. It seemed like Loki knew more than them but he and Sarah also seemed to communicate silently, Loki appearing out of no where when Sarah had a break down or Sarah bringing Loki back from God knew where after a fight Thor and he had about a year ago. Steve figured it had to do with their magic. "I wanted to talk to you."

Sarah gave a long suffering sigh. She had known this was coming for quite some time, thought that someone other than Loki would have asked by now, but Steve had never wanted to press and Tony had seen enough to never want to hear the facts.

"You want to know what happened while SHEILD had me…" It wasn't a question. Steve nodded and Sarah led them over to the couch.

"You are going to have to be silent until I am done if I am going to do this." Sarah looked into Steve's eyes and he nodded. "I don't really know a lot about when they first found me. I remember that my dad worked for them and that's why they came to the house. Something bad had happened… I remember that Dad had been going after Mom and my little brother with a knife but then it went black. At first, the agents were nice, cleaning me up and taking care of me. Then, this scientist came in. As soon as he noticed that I had powers, and told them, everyone started to freak out. They locked me in an interrogation room and left me for days.

When they came back, they had a needle with something weird in it. They said it would make me normal again. It took six of them to hold me down and when they finished… they started to congratulate each other. That's when it happened. My powers seemed to slip from my control. Three of the seven were dead before they even had time to blink. Only two actually escaped from the room. They died not long after from what other people said was a curse.

That's when they started to shackle me. For weeks they wouldn't feed me and sometimes they would beat me to try to weaken me so that they could perform tests and experiments on me. After a while, they just stopped coming all together. When Dad found me, it had been two months since they had even thrown food into my cell. They said I was too dangerous…" The sob that ripped its way out of Sarah's throat shocked Steve. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her in close as she cried into his shirt. "They called me the Mad Witch." He didn't know how to respond to that. Silence hung through out the room.

After what seemed like hours, she pulled herself together and wiped her face. The smile that she flashed Steve seemed like it came out of no where. How could this girl just put everything behind her on a moments notice and be alright when it seemed like the adults couldn't sometimes?

"You had better go get ready for your date. I'll be fine. I just want to finish my painting."

"Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

"Of course." She smiled again and he watched as she walked back over to the easel before he walked out, heading to his room to get ready for Tony to take him out.


	7. Family

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters, I do not own Doctor Who (just love it) and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and future chapters could get pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**Sorry that this chapter is so short, the next one will be longer, I promise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

"Sir, Mr. Stark will be here in two minutes."

"Thank you, Jarvis."

"There is no need to be nervous, Captain Rogers."

"I am not nervous."

"Then why are you pacing, sir?"

The Captain stopped walking immediately. He was dressed in the suit that Tony had gotten him for his birthday. Well, Tony had bought it and then modified it. It was a gray, pinstriped suit with a light blue shirt underneath. The modifications had made it able to contact Jarvis if anything happened and made it almost as resistant to damage as his Captain America suit. Whatever Tony had planned for tonight, he had wanted Steve to look his best.

When the elevator chimed, Steve had to stop himself from running. What in the world was he so scared of?

Tony walked right up to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Come on, Cap, the car is waiting." He followed without protest.

They drove to a classier part of town and when Tony handed the valet his keys, the kid looked as if he'd seen a million high priced toys instead of the stunned gape Tony's cars usually got. The waitress that took them to their secluded table was dressed almost as nicely as they were and gave them one, professional smile before leaving to get their drinks instead of trying to flirt with one of them like usual. For Steve, the nail in the coffin? No prices on the menu.

When their orders had been taken and they were left in peace until their food arrived, Steve looked across the table at Tony who was trying to look innocent while sipping on something nonalcoholic.

"Okay, spill."

"Whatever do you mean?" Tony gave him the puppy dog eyes over his drink.

"For one, you aren't drinking." Now he was rolling his eyes.

"I don't always have to be drunk when you haul me home." He looked slightly hurt.

"I'm sorry, Tony, I didn't mean it like that…" Steve dropped into an ashamed silence. Tony reached across the table and gently took Steve's hand.

"Look, I do have something planned but you'll have to wait till the end of dinner, okay? I had this planned out in my head and I don't want to skip anything."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Tony stood and placed a soft kiss on his forehead before taking his seat again.

"Oh! Sarah opened up to me today."

"Really?" Tony looked genuinely concerned.

"Yes, she revealed more about what happened to her before you found her. She was in the art studio when I went to go sketch."

"Was she okay afterward? Loki didn't have to come in and calm her down?"

"No, she seemed fine and I figured even if she wasn't, Loki would have sensed something and showed up like usual but he didn't."

"Well, I'm glad that you two are getting along." Tony flashed him that smile, that special smile that only he got to see. Steve felt himself returning it.

"Your food, sirs?" The server seemed a little nervous to be breaking the moment but Steve smiled at her and she started to set the plates down.

They ate in relative silence, stopping every once and a while to talk about recent missions or projects. At one point they started to discuss the team but one or both of them seemed to be trying to skate around the topic of marriage, so that didn't last long.

When dessert was finally finished, Steve went to motion for their waitress, hoping to get the bill and head home.

"Wait." When he turned back to Tony, he found him down on one knee. Silence descended. He felt like he was going to cry.

Tony slowly opened the black velvet box in his hand to reveal a plain silver band with one diamond in it. Radiating out from the diamond were lines that resembled those of the arc reactor. "Steve Rogers, will you marry me?"

He was out of his seat in an instant, lifting Tony up and kissing him sloppily on the mouth. When he finally pulled away, Tony chuckled. "I'm guessing that's a yes?"

"A million times over." And then they were kissing again, pulling away only when a passing waitress cleared her throat.

The ride home seemed like it was taking too long. Steve wanted to get Tony back to their bedroom, and now. Yet, when they elevator stopped, it wasn't on their floor, it was the communal floor.

"What the hell, Jarvis!?" Tony growled out.

"Sir, if you could spare a moment of your time, there is something waiting for you in the kitchen."

"No," Tony snapped, hitting the button for their floor again.

"Sir, I must insist."

"What good is my AI if it won't even listen to me?"

"Oh, come on, Tony." Steve smiled at him. "We do have all night. Let's just go see what it is."

"Fine," he huffed, marching out of the elevator, toward the kitchen. Steve nearly slammed into him when he suddenly stopped.

"Wha- oh."

All around the room, lights danced of their own accord. A large banner draped across one wall read, "Congratulations," in large letters. Flowers sat on every surface except for one, which held a simple panting. The painting showed all of them, the entire team and it looked like a classic family portrait, with Steve and Tony in the center.

The team smiled at them, Sarah stepping forward.

"Do you like it?"

"It's amazing," Steve breathed.

"Loki helped me to decorate." She hugged them both. "Congratulations."

Before they left, each member of the team gave them a hug and expressed their congratulations in their own way.

They really were a family now.

**Okay, the next chapter is going to be pretty tense. If you want a happy ending, end here. The angst is coming... You have been warned. Graphic content iminant**


	8. Gone

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

When they took Tony, no one knew why or how. Steve had been beating up up a punching bag in the gym when Sarah ran in.

"Dad's gone!" She had screamed it like something vital had been ripped from her chest and then ran out of the room. In her wake Steve felt disorientated and scared, not sure what to do. Tony was gone? Where? How?

Loki had Jarvis call him not five minutes later. Sarah had locked herself into one of the 'Hulk-proof' rooms just off of Bruce's lab.

When he got there, the team was gathered outside. Even Natasha and Thor looked shocked and scared.

Three years. She had been living with them all for three years and none of them really knew why she was called 'The Mad Witch,' that was until now.

She was floating in the air. Pure energy whipping around the room like lightening, tearing panels from the walls, smashing craters in the floor, and nearly bringing down the ceiling. Everyone stood, frozen, dumb stuck by the shear power she was exuding.

"Sarah." Steve stepped into the room and she spun to face him. Natasha put a hand on her traq-gun, ready to back him up. The power of her full focus made him want to run but he forced himself to meet her eyes. The manic, broken look frightened and hurt him at the same time. "Sweety, you need to calm down. This isn't going to help Dad."

This seemed to deflate her. Coming back down, she whispered, "They took him."

"Who?" Natasha stepped into the room, cautiously approaching a threat hat she hadn't known existed. That fact alone seemed to put her on edge.

"I don't know." Sarah's voice cracked and she started to sob. Natasha wrapped her arms around the girl, reminding herself that this was the same girl she ate pancakes with, that called her 'aunty,' that seemed to appear whenever they needed her in battle. "They were using some kind of magic blocker," she finally managed.

"Magic blocker?" Loki had joined them in the room, Thor trailing after him looking wary. Bruce and Clint seemed perfectly content to stand at the door and look worried.

"Yes," she breathed, finally calming and looking up. The sharpness in her features made them all pause. None of them wanted to be the people that had kidnapped Tony at that moment. "It wasn't anything of this world or Asgard."

Loki looked her in the eyes and they seemed to be communicating silently again.

"No." Loki seemed to want to scream the word.

"It's him, Loki. It has to be."

"Who?" Steve asked, suddenly on edge, the threat sinking in. If Loki was scared or worried, it had to be bad.

"Thanos, he's finally coming back for revenge. Revenge, because I failed…"

"But why Tony?"

Sarah answered this time. "Weaken the Avengers. Show them that they are nothing compared to him."

A cold feeling settled into his gut. "Is he there then? Is Tony with Thanos?"

"No." Loki looked sick.

"Dad is still on Earth… somewhere. Jarvis is already looking for him. I made sure to start that before my sanity broke."

Halfway across the world, Tony was waking up. The light caught his attention first, it was blinding, aided by his pounding headache. Obviously he had been drugged.

The next things to come into focus were his restraints. Razor wire dug into his wrists, bringing forth torrents of blood. He hissed in pain and a chuckle came from the other side of the room.

"Silly human, moving will only make it worse." The thing came forth. It ran a scaly claw down his cheek and he felt warm liquid in its wake. The blood ran down his chin and dripped down to the floor to join the puddle that was already forming.

"What am I doing here?" Tony wanted to sound cocky, in control, but really he just wanted more time to take in his surroundings. He noticed that he was completely naked, bond by his ankles as well as his wrists, spread eagle against a brick wall.

"You are their whipping boy. So now you will suffer for them all. Our lord demands it, so it shall be." The things voice took on a sort of growl and then all five claws were being stabbed into his side, knuckle deep.

It was Tony's first scream. His last would not come for three more days.

At some point another creature joined the first. This time with a whip. He lost count after the thirtieth blow. He lost consciousness, only to be brought back by a hard strike across the face from the first creature's hand (_Is that a hand?_).

It was two more hours until he lost consciousness again. When he did succumb to the burns, cuts, and blood loss they dumped a bucket of freezing water over his head.

"Oh, Man of Iron, we are not even close to done with you yet."

Three more days, it took them three more days to find him.

When the door was wrenched from the hinges, Tony fliched, barely. If this was going to be some new form of torture, it was better to just submit. These things didn't want anything from him, only to cause pain. They had been careful to avoid the reactor, wanting to keep him alive, seeming to know that it's destruction would kill him rather quickly. That didn't stop them from threatening to rip it from him his chest though. Despite their avoidance, though, it was starting to flicker. At this point, Tony would welcome death.

His captors were flying (_'Flying? That's not right. Pull it together, Tony,' _his mind urged him) across the room and slamming into the wall. Red bands of energy wrapped them from head to foot and seemed to burn them as they struggled. (_Good_) A familiar red and black clad figure stepped into his cell. (_Now you're really losing it, Tony. Why would she be here?_)

Sarah's face plate snapped back into its compact form as she ran to Tony. Soft energy went up his arms and down his legs, removing the wire that bound him, melting it away. She caught him as he fell forward.

"Dad…" Tears were cutting down her face. She held it together just long enough for Captain America to charge in the door. He was quickly followed by the others. Carefully, Steve took Tony into his arms.

"Shh, it's okay, Tony, we have you now." He stepped over to Loki. "We have to get to Bruce, now." With that, they were gone but Loki remained behind, eyes trained on Sarah.

Her mind shattered. "YOU BASTARDS!" she roared, striking out at them. She managed to inflict several painful injuries before Loki pulled her off, casting a spell on her while the other three rounded up their new prisoners. There was much to do. Steve needed to stay with Tony, but the others had to get to work.


	9. Interrogation

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

"Who do you work for?" Loki sighed as he watched the two assassins question the creature. The door creaked behind him and he felt Thor's reassuring arms wrap around his waist. He wanted to relax into his arms but he felt the other presence in the room.

"Brother, you must rest." Loki's head fell back against the blonde's shoulder.

"How is he doing?"

"Dad woke up screaming three times. Steve has been trying to keep him calm put it only works for short periods. He wants to get back in his lab."

"We must do something."

"I will. But I want this taken care of first."

"They aren't going to talk. They were trained for this."

"Give me ten minutes." Sarah walked out of the observation room and Loki turned in Thor's arms. His brother kissed him.

"Loki, you haven't been in our bed in a week. I miss you."

"I know, brother, and I you. This situation requires my presence, though."

"Let those of this world handle it."

"Brother…"

"The Man of Iron requires you as well. I know that you suffered as he did, perhaps that could be of comfort to him."

"No, he needs his family."

"I require you as well… Remember, we are Tony's family as well." Once again they were locked together, Loki's tongue flicking out over Thor's bottom lip, the other man opening his mouth in welcome. For a moment their tongues battled for dominance before they were torn apart by the action on the other side of the glass.

Natasha and Clint were eying Sarah with apprehension but seemed to be getting up and walking out.

The two that were left in the room locked eyes.

"Your father cried like a woman." The flash of hangs didn't seem to faze her at all.

Sarah slowly took a seat across the table from the thing. "Who are you working for?"

"Such a puny human, why would they send you?" An invisible hand slammed the things head against the table.

"I asked you who you work for, not an opinion on my size."

"Pain shall not make me submit, unlike your weak Man of Iron. By the end of it, he would have said anything to make us stop." Again, the sound of metal on bone. "Do you wish to hear how he screamed as we took turns-" Suddenly the captive was trapped against the far wall, air being cut off by invisible hands.

"I do not wish to hear about how you raped my father, or how you burned, whipped, cut, bruised, or broke him. I simply want to hear the name of the last person I am going to kill." The blankness of her face was more terrifying than anything the four observers had ever seen.

The thing was dragged back and placed, once more, in its restraints by the table.

"I shall never speak. This pain is nothing."

"You do not know the pain which I can inflict."

"When we were sent, we were not told of a child."

"I am a new addition." Sarah sat back in her chair, so relaxed, a perfect impression of the Black Widow.

"You know you shall never get the name from-" Suddenly the creature was slammed until the metal table, spread eagle and open.

"If you do not wish to be useful then I will simply end you as painfully as possible and then move on to your partner. Perhaps the sounds of your agonized screams will encourage him to be more forthcoming with the information."

"These walls are sound proof," the thing hissed at her.

"I know." The coldness in her voice could have frozen an ocean. Sarah started to circle the table and yet the four watching remained where they were. She hadn't done anything excessive, yet.

"Let's start with something a little simpler." Her suit materialized onto her body. "What is your name?" A few seconds passed. She stopped, gripped one of the claws on the things right hand and ripped it clean off. The scream it let out pushed Natasha into action. She was out the door in an instant.

Natasha was back in time to hear the thing rasp out, "Reinyor."

"She sealed the door somehow!"

"Good, now, Reinyor, explain to me why you hurt my father." Another claw, another scream, and Loki was out of the room with Natasha, going to try the door.

"We were hired to weaken the Avengers, take down the figure head and no one will believe anymore." The thing seemed like it was sobbing but it was hard to tell.

"I can't get in!" Loki looked worried now.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Now consider for a moment, I hurt you that much for simple questions, what will I do when it comes to something a little more important? Did you enjoy hurting him?"

"More than you know, you puny human." A blood curdling screech erupted from the things throat as its hand fell to the floor, ripped from the socket.

"That doesn't sound repentant at all. Why don't you look at the flashing red dot and say you're sorry?"

"Never," it hissed back.

"Poor choice." The arm, up to the elbow was torn away next.

"Oh mighty one! Fine, I am sorry. I am so sorry, Man of Iron."

"Better. Now, who do you work for?"

The thing laughed for a second and then was convulsing, screaming like its heart was being torn from its body.

"You know what you're feeling right now? I am ripping your soul out. Soon you will be an nonthinking, useless creature. Do you want to tell me now?" Reinyor seemed to be nodding. Sarah withdrew her hand and the pain seemed to ebb away.

"It was the Mad Titan. He wished to seek out those on Earth that had defeated him before and destroy them."

"Good boy. Why wait?"

"I do not know this, young one. You shall after to ask Thanos himself that one." The half cocky smirk it gave Sarah was wiped away in an instant.

"I shall make you beg for your life." Slowly, the thing was ripped apart, body, mind and soul.

"STOP! PLEASE STOP! The pain…"

"Is that what he said as you beat him? Did he beg you to stop as you cut him to shreds? Did he bargain with you as you thrust into him?" Her eyes had taken on that crazy shine again.

A moment before the thing actually died, she stopped, pulling back her hand. The bleeding stopped suddenly and the thing that was really just stubs and a head whimpered.

"You are not allowed to die yet. Oh, Reinyor, we are just getting started." With that, she walked out of the room, magically cleaning the black blood from her person. All of the adults sat in stunned silence.

No one knew how they were going to explain this to her fathers… wishing that they hadn't seen the evil in her, wishing she was still the innocent six year old from before SHEILD had taken her.


	10. Sleep

**So disclaimer: I do not own the characters and only created an additional character, I do not wish to make any money off of this, I just like to write.**

**Warnings: There are malexmale couplings, I think I made that clear but sometimes people don't listen. IF YOU AREN'T INTERESTED IN READING ABOUT GAY MEN, STOP NOW. Okay, you have been warned. There is bad language and pretty gory, spoilers... There will be no vivid *cough* love scenes unless I get a demand for them, space will be left to insert those chapters if the need should arise.**

**I know I said that the OC would be nonromantic but hey, every one else but Bruce has a hookup. Girl needed some love. Sorry! Don't shoot me with fangirl darts!**

**This is my first Avengers fanfic, don't kill me.**

**Enjoy**

Steve looked worriedly between his daughter and his fiancée. An hour earlier, Clint had carried her in, mumbled something about bad interrogation and gone off again. He knew that Sarah had gone to watch, with Loki, in case anything magical occurred while the two assassins questioned their captives. The Captain had tried to protest but Tony had started to stir and he didn't want to cause him unnecessary stress. Surely, Loki would protect his niece… It appeared that this was not the case.

Suddenly, Tony gasped and sat up.

"It's okay, Baby, you're safe."

Tony turned to him and seemed to really see him for the first time since they had found him twenty-four hours ago. His brow wrinkled slightly and then he was diving, well much as he could, into Steve's arms.

"I know."

"You know?"

"Something happened while I was asleep."

"A lot of things have happened recently…"

"I know." Tony turned his face up to Steve and tentatively kissed him, just a simple contact of lips on lips. At first, Steve didn't respond, he was shocked. When Tony didn't pull away, he lightly pressed back.

Tony pulled away first, looking flustered and scared at the same time.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't push yourself. We have all the time in the world."

"I guess I am just scared that this was another dream."

Steve waited a second for Tony to go on but when his eyes started to fog over and Steve could see his mind start to wander, he knew he had to do something.

"Another dream?"

Tony looked at him again. "Yeah, my nightmares started again and then… Sarah was there. She stopped everything. She saved me, tore those things to shreds and then took my hand. She said she was going to lead me back to you and then… I woke up."

Thor hurried into the room, stopping when Tony flinched.

"Friends," Thor spoke in a voice much softer than his normal boom. The familiarity seemed to sink in and Tony relaxed slightly.

"What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Our captives have perished."

"What-"

"Sarah." Tony cut him off, turning to the unconscious girl. "Why is she unconscious? What happened to her?"

Tony was getting anxious. Steve put his hands on Tony's shoulders. "Calm down, Sweety."

"It was real." The sureness of his voice threw the other two men off for a moment. He hadn't sounded this sure since before he was taken. Something seemed to unwind in his body as Tony reached his hand out toward his daughter.

Her body seemed to stir but Sarah didn't wake up, lost in a world that no one could see.

"Man of Iron." Tony turned to Thor. "She took the interrogation too far. Loki cast a spell of some sort to render her unconscious for a time. When he cast the spell… she resisted its influence. My brother is not sure when she will wake up." He sighed and walked over to the bed holding Sarah. "Somewhere, in her mind, I can sense that she is fighting a difficult battle. I do not know who her opponent is, but they are strong… It may even be herself." Thor ran a gentle hand down her arm. "We can only pray that she returns to us soon, in one piece."

All three men looked at her form as it seemed to twitch minutely every few minutes.

"She saved me, somewhere in there, she is still saving me. Somewhere in there, she will always want to save me." The other two in the room turned their attention to Tony while he seemed absorbed in his daughter.

As he drifted back into a drugged sleep, Loki entered, looking worried.

"Is she still-" he stopped, his question answered by his own eyes.

"Brother."

"I do not know what to do, Thor."

"What if she never wakes up?" Steve looked as if he were about to cry, his life being torn to bits before his very eyes.

"Captain." Steve turned to Loki, holding tightly to Tony's hand as if letting go of it meant letting go of everything he had ever had. "We should not ask if she will ever wake up, my spell has already worn off. The true question now is who she shall become upon waking."

"What do you mean?"

"Deep inside her there are scars, fractures in her very mind and personality. Until now, they have never been an issue. She was safe. When they took Tony, those fractures started to spread. Her very life, a family that had built itself up around her, was threatened. During the interrogation we watched her break. The witch that SHEILD feared was not Sarah, but the thing that she became when broken." Loki touched Steve's arm carefully, he quickly showed him just the moment in which Sarah had lost all sense of who she was.

"So what are you saying?"

"When she wakes, and she shall in her own time, she shall either be the Sarah that we have all come to know and love or she shall be the Mad Witch."

"What are we going to do?"

"Fury is wondering the same thing at this moment. He is downstairs, wondering if she will have to go back into captivity. No one wants that," he hurried one, seeing the stricken look in Steve's eyes. "You know that we all wanted her to join the team when she turned eighteen, be the new face of the Avengers, but if she is gone… there will be nothing any of us can do to save her this time."

"How can we help her?"

"Right now, her sane mind is multitasking. She is trying to track down Thanos and regain control."

"So we destroy Thanos."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"In all honestly? It is because not even I can find him. He has completely hidden himself."

"Then what? We give up?"

"Not necessarily. There is a young mutant that SHEILD has found."

"Found like they found Sarah?"

"No. The young man was found a few days ago, immediately following the event that made him… unique. They are bringing him in now."

"What does that have to do with this, Loki?"

"I believe that the influence of a younger presence will focus Sarah's mind. She knows that we shall all be able to continue on without her, no matter how sad that would be. A young person, like herself, that feels abandoned and heart broken would benefit from her presence."

"Who is it then?"

"His name is Peter Parker. They bringing him here as we speak."

"Tell them to hurry." With that, the Captain seemed to dismiss the other two, focusing completely on his shattered family. Thor and Loki heard the gentle sob as they crossed the threshold. Something needed to be done, quickly, or Sarah and Tony wouldn't be the only ones damaged and lost.


	11. Awakening

"You know you won't find him, so why are you trying?"

Sarah opened her eyes and looked across the table at the woman. The chess set had long been forgotten. Two pawns, one from each side, had been moved forward but that was all. The woman sitting across from her looked about twenty five with long, mangy black hair. Her eyes were glowing red and the smile on her face looked manic.

"I could help you find him."

"Yes, but then I wouldn't care why I was trying to find him anymore."

"Occupational hazard."

"I don't need you."

"Yes, but I need you. I need you to _give up._" The last two words were hissed. The chess pieces rattled.

"They need me."

"No, they don't. You are useless to them, more than useless. You are a burden on them and you know it."

"I am not!" She slammed her fist down on the table and only one of the pieces moved. The pawned moved forward one space.

"Now we are getting somewhere." The witch tilted her head a bit and took Sarah's pawn.

"No. I need to find Thanos and help Dad…"

"If you ever wake up they will arrest you."

"My family wouldn't let that happen."

"Your family is the one planning it."

"Why?"

"You killed those things, trying to help Tony. You didn't realize your magic wasn't completely under control did you? Those things were ripped apart in their cells. You know how I know I am going to win?"

"How?"

"You are a little bit happy that they are dead."

"Hi…" The quiet, shy voice cut off both of them. "That is a lame way to start that out but I don't really know what else to say."

"Who…" The Mad Witch looked around the barren space, suspicious.

Sarah felt her hand grow warm, as if someone was holding it.

"You don't know me… I don't really know you either… They told me stories about you though. The Black Widow told me about how you'd stay up all night when they'd be gone and have breakfast waiting whenever they got back, like you knew when they were coming. She looked like she was going to cry when she ran her hand through your hair. Hawkeye said that you'd show up in the archery range and fix arrows for him, listen to him when he needed someone to talk to about a hard mission and Natasha wasn't there. He said that you helped pick her ring out, one that she could wear most of the time that wouldn't get caught on things.

They said that they are going to adopt me, those two. That it'll be hard living with all of them but that hopefully I would like it, as much as you seem to have.

Thor... he said that you showed him parts of the city that amazed him. You took him to places that your mother took you before everything happened. You showed him paintings and helped him get used to the city. He said that you showed the restaurant that he took Loki to when he popped the question. Loki said that you sit for hours with him, listening about the old days back on Asgard. He said that he taught you spells a lot whenever you both had time.

Those two… They looked like they were blaming themselves. Loki always looks so calm and collected but before he left the room, when he thought no one was watching, he let a tear fall.

Iron Man woke up when they brought me in here to see you. He seemed calm. Everyone was kind of shocked that he was so calm considering what he just went through. He told me about the day that they found you, him and Bruce. He said that if you could be happy after everything that happened to you… maybe he could too. Bruce, the Hulk, he said you would sit with him in silence for hours and just… watch him work, bring him food when he needed it. Captain America… he told me about the time that you opened up to him, he painting that you made for them the night that Tony proposed. He said that you had a way of finding true beauty in your art, even with everything that happened.

Sarah, they love you. And I think… I think that I might need you… So please wake up. Don't leave me alone… Like everyone else has."

Sarah looking across the table at The Mad Witch one more time. In her palm was the black king.

"Well I think you know what happens now."

"Yes, but you'll be back. I will be waiting."

Sarah stood and started to walk away. She spoke over her shoulder, "I know, but today, I won." Then she was gone.

Slowly, Sarah's eyes began to open. Just a twitch of her eyelids and then they were staring at the ceiling. A blink, two, and then she was turning her head to take in the room. A somewhat skinny boy with brown hair and hazel eyes sat next to her and held her hand. Behind him, the Avengers stood, they waited to see who their girl would be when she woke up.

A small smile spread across her face. Her full attention onto Peter and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. The full weight of this girl's attention was awe inspiring, so pure and healing yet with an edge.

"What's your name?" Her voice was rough after the silence of a day.

"Peter, Peter Parker."

"Nice to know. My name is Sarah, you already know that, but it's nice to be able to introduce myself."

"Sarah…" Tony approached the bed slowly and Peter backed off, letting her hand drop.

"Dad. How are you?" She sat up and turned so that her feet dangled over the side of the hospital bed.

He took her face in both of her hands and brought their foreheads together. "I'm just glad to see you awake."

"Dad, you should lie back down." He shifted on his feet and winced. "You're still recovering."

She stood up and gently directed him back into the hospital bed next to her own.

"You know, I haven't had any nightmares since…" He looked up at her, begging her to understand.

"I know, Dad. Now get some sleep." When he finally drifted off with the help of more painkillers, she started to walk toward the door, motioning for the others to follow her.

Steve stayed behind, while the others, including Peter, followed her down the hallway and into an open meeting room.

She took a seat and turned to watch the others sit around the table.

"What happened? I know that I have been gone for 24 hours. I need to know what happened."

Loki spoke first. "The captives were ripped to shreds. I found the planet that they came from. Their leaders didn't seem to care about their deaths. No one can figure out how to find Thanos. For now… We are simply picking up the pieces."

Sarah nodded sadly. "So we just go about our lives like usual?"

"For now. As much as we can."

Loki looked her in the eye and she knew, he was giving her a job. Now she needed to stay, and complete it.


End file.
